His Past Whispers
by Amberdiamondswords
Summary: His father nowhere to be found. His home taken over by pirates who are seeking Zoni treasures. His best friend forced into slavery. These were things that Clank, a supposedly abandoned Zoni, didn't even know about as he was adopted and raised from a baby on Veldin. But visions and voices will reveal his past piece by piece. Reboot!verse Zoni AU. Cover by Moon-and-the-heroes.
1. Father-Son Prologue

_"The greatest challenge in life is discovering who you are._

 _The second is being happy with what you find."_

* * *

 _Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock._

Time is a gift.

A gift that must be protected at all costs.

As a caretaker, he must defend the Timekeeper. Losing it would mean losing the universe. He had to be sharp, vigilant, and prepared for battle at a moment's notice.

But he wasn't quite sure what to make of this.

Nervous hands were placed on the main console of the Orvus Chamber. The shimmering eyes of Orvus himself narrowed with curiosity. Slowly, he lifted himself off of the console and put a concerned hand on his chin, his shining Chronoscepter sticking out to the side as he slightly folded his arms.

A chart of the stars was portrayed on the screen, with a symbol representing the Timekeeper in the center. And off to the side was what was causing concern. An unidentified object represented by a blinking dot, moving ever so slowly across the chart.

"How long has it been this close to the facility?" Orvus spoke out loud, addressing the computer's concerns.

 _"Scanners show that it has been within possible sighting distance for approximately 23.38 minutes. It has been moving slowly across its flight path and has not come any closer or gone any farther to the Timekeeper within that time,"_ the feminine computer responded, a pack of tendrils resembling robotic eyes looking at the elder Zoni.

"I do not know if we can confirm it as a ship or not. Were you able to detect any energy signatures from its position?"

 _"Negative. The object is just outside of scanning distance, hence why I cannot know what it is for sure. That seems rather suspicious if you ask me."_

"Perhaps. While we cannot rule out this object being a ship, I believe that, given its flight path, it is most likely an asteroid passing by. Keep an eye on it and tell me if anything changes," Orvus said, turning off the console screen.

 _"Understood."_ The eye-like tendrils nearly retracted back into their compartment, but the sight of something made them spring back out. They glanced at Orvus before announcing the computer's findings. _"By the way, there is a surprise behind you."_

"Hm?" Orvus hummed curiously, having half a mind to ready his Chronoscepter in case this 'surprise' was actually an invading Terratrope. Though it was most likely not so because the computer would have warned him. Still, he turned around and hoped that he wasn't about to get a face full of sharp pincers. But, instead, he came face to face with a tiny Zoni child. "Oh! Well hello, little one! It is certainly a surprise to see you. How did you get in here?"

XJ-0461. Orvus' son. Around a year old now, the baby Zoni was a little less than half the size of Orvus. He shared the same pink skin and rounded head as his father, but he sported shining green eyes over his father's turquoise ones. His blue Zoni suit was similar to the suits of the common Zoni, though, and his two long antennae stuck freely out of his head.

XJ-0461 let out small cheerful noises as his father picked him up and held him out. Orvus gave his son a quizzical look, "Sigmund usually keeps a close eye on you. How did you manage to slip away from him? And get into _here_ no less?"

As if he knew what his father was telling him, or if he just wanted to play, XJ-0461 demonstrated how he managed to sneak up on Orvus by suddenly vanishing out of the elder Zoni's hands. The computer spoke up after witnessing this event, _"I believe that's how."_

Orvus looked at his empty hands and then frantically looked around for his child. Teleportation. A power that all Zoni possessed. But he had no idea that his son was capable of doing it at such a young age. Then again, he had been very young when he learned how to teleport, so maybe this was an early skill that his son inherited from him. But now begged the question of where his son ended up after teleporting right out of his hands.

"Eeeh…"

A simple glance to his right and Orvus saw XJ-0461 hanging off of his Chronoscepter like it was a playset on a stick. The elder carefully removed the child from the priceless tool and held him close, setting the Chronoscepter down. "Now now, XJ-0461, you know that daddy's Chronoscepter is not a toy. You must be careful with it. Impressive teleportation, though."

XJ-0461 let out some joyful noises before vanishing again. This time he simply reappeared on the ground in front of Orvus. Orvus scratched the side of his head, not sure how to feel about these spasms. He was both proud and concerned. He placed a hand on his son's head and smiled warmly, "Teleporting already. You're growing up faster than I thought you would. But I suppose every parent thinks that at some point in their lives."

"Hehe! Dada!" The child chirped. 'Dada' was, of course, XJ-0461's way of referring to his father.

"You certainly are happy to be here with me. Perhaps that is why you teleported here. You wanted to see me, hm?" Orvus said. A burst of excitement came from the child as he let out a squeal of joy. He reached out to his father and smiled happily. Orvus laughed, "Hehehe! Yes? Did you want to see your daddy?"

"Dah!" XJ-0461 cried out happily.

Besides obviously not having a mother to help care for him, Orvus knew for a fact that XJ-0461 was a complete daddy's boy. The child was always happiest when he was with his father. Especially when they played his favorite game. Remembering this, Orvus put XJ-0461 on the floor and hovered right in front of him. He covered his eyes with both his hands. "Son, look, it's your favorite game. You know how this goes. Wheeere's XJ-0461?"

"Ah! Ah! Hehe! Ahh!" The child bounced up and down excitedly as if trying to tell his father that he was right there.

"Hmm, this is quite peculiar. I hear him, but I cannot see him. Now, where could he be...?" The elder Zoni tried his best to hold back his laughter as his son became increasingly excited. Not wanting to keep the child waiting, Orvus uncovered his eyes and raised his hands in the air, "Oh! There he is!"

"Eeeh! Haha! Dah!" XJ-0461 babbled happily. A little giggle came from him and he then covered his own eyes.

Orvus eagerly played along, "Oh no, XJ-0461! Where did daddy go? Where is he?"

"Ahhh...dada!" XJ-0461 uncovered his eyes and mimicked his father's previous movements by putting his hands in the air.

"That's right, I'm right here! Such a smart lad, you are." The young Zoni clapped his hands and reached out to his father, happily babbling away. Orvus smiled widely, "Hehe! Come here, you!"

He scooped up the elated XJ-0461 in his arms and tickled him, making the child laugh. XJ-0461 escaped his father's playful attack by vanishing in a bright light, teleporting out of Orvus' arms once more. The elder huffed, "Not again. Where did he end up this time?"

"Dah...Dada..."

His back. He was on Orvus' back.

"Honestly, you cannot stay put for a moment, can you?" Orvus looked behind him and saw XJ-0461 clinging to the gold prongs sticking out of his metal suit. He reached behind himself and gently took his son into his arms. He smiled and shook his head, "My my, what am I going to do with you? You're a little teleporting machine. But you _do_ need to take a break from it, so kindly settle yourself."

"Ah...eeh..." XJ-0461 relaxed in Orvus' arms, feeling the need and want of teleporting fading from him.

Despite finding great joy in watching its creator play with his son, the Clock's computer had some concerns with the child's teleportation spasms. Something about it didn't seem safe. _"Sir, this could be troublesome. Your child is too young to be teleporting around the Timekeeper. One wrong move and he could end up injuring himself. Perhaps you should curb the child's power."_

Orvus smiled warmly at the eye tendrils looking at him, "While I appreciate the concern, I believe that he will be fine with his current powers. If he is already this talented in power as a child, imagine what he will be capable of when he is grown. And it would not be fair to restrict his power when he is just learning to use them. It is part of the Zoni lifecycle. Leave all of the worrying to me."

 _"I just believe that…"_ The computer paused for a moment. Over the course of its life, it had never witnessed a Zoni child growing up, so it didn't know what it was like. Orvus knew what he was talking about. He always knew what he was talking about. _"Yes, sir."_

"I know you care about him," he said, trying to prevent XJ-0461 from playing with his own antennae, "but he needs to learn."

 _"Understood. But it will not prevent me from keeping a closer eye on him."_

"Honestly, you are like a mother to him," Orvus muttered, teasing the computer, who dismissed what its master said.

 _"Speaking of keeping an eye on the little one,"_ the computer said, trying to move on, _"the Junior Caretaker was supposed to be watching him. It is rather irresponsible of him that he lost track of the child."_

"I doubt that Sigmund knew that XJ-0461 was going to teleport. It was not his fault. Though he should have contacted me when my son suddenly went missing. Get me a direct communication line to him. He should have his communicator with him on his belt."

 _"Contacting Junior Caretaker."_

The static noise echoed through the chamber. Orvus placed his hand over XJ-0461's antennae to protect him from the loud noise. It was when a gentle 'ping' was heard that he called out to his colleague. "Hello? Sigmund! I cannot help but notice that my son is here in the Orvus Chamber."

" _That's_ where he went?!" Sigmund's voice shouted from the other end, sounding panicked. "I am so sorry, sir! I look away for just a moment and next thing I know he's gone! I've been looking everywhere for him! He's safe, right? He didn't hurt himself?"

"He is fine. He just teleported to here. Either he wanted to see me or he thinks teleporting is a game for him to play with you. Whichever one it is, I do not blame you for losing him."

"Oh thank the stars…" Sigmund said, relieved. Though Orvus wasn't sure if he was relieved because XJ-0461 was safe or because he wasn't being blamed.

Either way, he thought this was a good time to bring XJ-0461 back to Sigmund. "Where are you right now, Sigmund?"

"I'm in the Orientation Room. Since this chamber is so big, I thought that he might be hiding in here. Why? You want me to come to the Orvus Chamber?"

"No, there is no need to take such a long trip. We will come to you." Orvus smiled down at his son and got his attention. "Watch how daddy does it, son."

The two disappeared in a flash of light, the faint sign of a symbol being left behind, and it faded away quickly. In the blink of an eye, Orvus and XJ-0461 reappeared in the Orientation Room halfway across the entire facility. The moment that they materialized, XJ-0461 let out joyful noises, amused by being teleported by his father.

Orvus chuckled slightly and shifted his son in his arms. The child was so easily amused. He hoped that it would lead to XJ-0461 having a positive outlook on life when he was older. "When you learn to properly control your own teleportation power, you'll be able to bounce around this entire facility as freely as you wish. Though it won't be that easy when I teach you dimension-hopping."

"Well, hopefully he'll learn not to teleport to who-knows-where when I'm supposed to be looking after him." Sigmund had seen the two come in and was already hovering towards them. His bright yellow eyes nearly glared at the child as he pointed a finger at him. "You had me worried sick, ya know! How am I supposed to be a responsible uncle if you disappear on me like that? Even though if I lose track of you it's kinda...kinda my fault...b-but the point still stands!"

XJ-0461 had no idea what Sigmund was saying, as to be expected with a child his age. All he knew was that one of his favorite people was in front of him and talking to him. He didn't understand the words, but he appreciated the sound of Sigmund's voice. Things that he was familiar with in a positive light always comforted him. So the only response his young mind could think to do was reach out and grab Sigmund's finger and smiled.

Orvus swore he had never seen a mood change this quickly. Sigmund quickly sighed in complete defeat, "Ah, it's not fair. You're too cute to be mad at! I swear he's learning to use his adorableness against me."

"Well, he has proven to be rather smart, even at this age," Orvus said. "Though he has been having trouble with learning to speak. I have heard him say 'dada' a few times when addressing me, but not much else."

"Oh! We've been practicing that! He's so close to being able to say my name. Watch, watch, you'll love this." The robot gently tapped the child on the head to get his attention. Then he spoke slowly to make sure that he was following what he was saying to him. "XJ-0461, say 'Sigmund'. Sig. Mund."

Orvus glanced at XJ-0461 curiously as the child let out some noises that were supposed to be copying what Sigmund said. "Muhhh...muhh…"

"Come on, you can do it. You were really close last time. Slowly yet surely say 'Sigmund'. It's easy to say it once you get used to it, I swear."

"Suhhh...m-muh...ah-" At the end of that attempt, XJ-0461 ended up letting out a tiny burp. And he was apparently satisfied with his "talking" as he settled back down into his father's arms, looking content and not attempting to speak again.

Sigmund let out a small sigh as he rubbed the back of his head, "Well...maybe he'll get it next time."

 _"It sounded accurate to me,"_ the Clock's computer said, referring to the child's burp.

"Oh great, the computer's listening. Stupid, sarcastic, outdated-" Sigmund started, only to be interrupted.

 _"You have no room to talk when it comes to being outdated,"_ the computer said.

"I'm not outdated! I don't even have rust!"

 _"That we're aware of."_

"Why you-!"

"Enough you two," Orvus said fiercely, quickly shutting them both up. He brought attention to XJ-0461, "Please, no fighting. Not in front of the child."

Despite the amount of tension between the two, Sigmund and computer knew that they shouldn't argue in front of the little one. They didn't like each other, but their love for XJ-0461 was greater than their hatred. So they joined together for an appropriate "sorry" and kept their mouths shut from then on.

The child let out a large yawn and began fussing in his father's arms, making weak little noises as he did. Orvus knew what this meant. It was around that time and his son's mood was right on schedule. He spoke in a slightly quieter voice as he tried to soothe the child a bit, "Looks like it's nap time. Sigmund, is Mnemonic Station Gamma prepared?"

"It should be. I checked it this morning and it was functioning properly," Sigmund replied.

"Aaah! Ah!" XJ-0461 cried out, fussing a bit more.

"Yes, yes, I know, you want to go to sleep," Orvus said, holding out his fussy child, who was quickly losing his patience. "You can be an impatient little one when you want to be. I sincerely hope you outgrow that. Being Senior Caretaker will require quite a bit of patience."

"Dada!" Was all the child could think to say when his father spoke to him. It made Orvus smile.

"Oh! Oh! He's saying names! XJ-0461, quickly! Say 'Sigmund'!" Sigmund urged, desperately wanting to hear XJ-0461 say his name.

But it was not meant to be, as XJ-0461 just let out a small cough instead. Sigmund looked defeated once again. Orvus chuckled a bit and put the child over his shoulder, "Alright, enough excitement, it is time for your nap."

XJ-0461 lovingly clung to his father's shoulder and let out a weak yawn. His fussing had already begun to die down and he was ready for his nap. Orvus tapped on the Mnemonic Chamber's console and the glass tube opened with a hiss. He gently smoothed back his son's antennae, "I will come and get you in a bit. You go and have a nice rest."

Orvus raised XJ-0461 up and the chamber's pull took the child from his hands. XJ-0461 let out another small yawn before closing his large green eyes. The Mnemonic Chamber would put him to sleep instantly, allowing him to explore his own subconscious like a nostalgic playground. At times, Orvus considered exploring inside his son's mind through a program of himself, but the time for that was not now. He had to allow his son to grow first. Plus going into someone's mind without their permission or knowledge was rude. Though he hoped that, when he did go in there, the child's subconscious wasn't like Sigmund's. Nothing but cartoons and broken sprockets in the robot's mind. It was truly bizarre.

The Mnemonic Station hissed shut, safely keeping XJ-0461 inside. Orvus stared at him for a moment, pondering something that he planned to keep to himself. Then he turned away and floated over to the antique couch in the middle of the room and sat himself down on it. He rubbed the side of his head and let out a small sigh.

Sigmund noticed this sudden change in his colleague's mood and decided to find out what was going on. "Sir, is everything alright? You look...I dunno. Out of it? For lack of a better term."

"I am fine. Parenthood is simply wearing me down a bit, that is all. Having and caring for a son on top of all the duties I must perform as Senior Caretaker seems to be weighing down on me." Orvus quickly continued in case what he said might have been taken the wrong way, "Not that I am exhausted or miserable or anything. I am managing just fine and I love my son with every fiber of my being. I just get a little tired more easily, and there isn't anything wrong with that."

"He is a bit of a handful, isn't he? He's pretty well-behaved for a baby, though."

"Oh yes, he is a very well behaved child. Though he can get fussy. But I suppose that's to be expected from a child his age."

"And I know that you wouldn't trade him for the entire universe," Sigmund said, happy that the conversation was starting to pick up in a more positive way.

Orvus smiled, "Of course I wouldn't. He is my little boy. My boy that took over four hundred attempts to stabilize. It seems like only yesterday that I settled him into that suit of his."

"Oh yeah, that reminds me. That suit he's in, it's the one you experiment with, right?"

"Correct," the elder Zoni said.

The blue Zoni suit that his son wore was indeed an experiment of his that he had been working on for quite some time. XJ-0461 was the first Zoni child in eons. And like the rest of his species, he needed to wear a suit to stabilize him and keep him alive outside of the Zoni Dimension. However, as his body fed on the energy only provided in the Clock and the Zoni Dimension, because he would end up growing in physical size over the course of his early years, XJ-0461 would have needed multiple suits to be made in order to fit the various increased sizes he would be until he stopped growing. But the robotic suits that housed Zoni were not easy to make, as it took much time, resources, energy, and precision. Making multiple ones that were slightly bigger than each other would be a difficult and time-consuming task, something that Orvus didn't have the time for.

As a solution, Orvus experimented with a concept that had been studied several times across the three galaxies: expanding metal. After years of studying and modifying the properties of the metal that was used to create the robotic suits, Orvus managed to create a brand new kind of suit for his son. While it had the appearance of a common Zoni suit with a blue coloration, the modified Zoni suit that XJ-0461 wore now would expand as he grew and continuously fit perfectly on his body no matter what size he grew to be. Orvus could not help but give himself a slight pat on the back for this experiment's success. He wouldn't have to worry about his son outgrowing his robotic suit ever again. Though the suit being damaged was another story, as he would have to create another expanding suit. But, hopefully, that would not end up happening.

"You really did do an awesome job on that suit. Expanding metal. Brilliant, sir!" Sigmund said proudly.

Orvus rubbed the back of his own head, feeling slightly embarrassed from the praise, "Yes, well, other Zoni helped me create it, so it was not just me. But I appreciate your kind words."

"Well, it's good that you appreciate them because I have some more for you." The robot turned to the child Zoni sleeping inside the Mnemonic Station. "You really are doing a great job of raising your son. You're a natural father."

"And you're a great uncle," Orvus said, wanting to return some kind words himself.

It was Sigmund's turn to look embarrassed, "Well...I _did_ kind of lose track of him. So I don't know about being a _great_ uncle."

"Everyone makes mistakes. And his teleportation was unexpected." The elder Zoni floated up and placed a hand on Sigmund's shoulder. "All that matters is that you care about him and do your best to look after him. And we both know that XJ-0461 loves you. You're his favorite playmate after all."

"Hahaha, yeah. He's a loving little thing. He's going to make such a good Senior Caretaker when he grows up, I know it."

"You're not the only one who believes so," Orvus agreed, turning to look at the child as well. "That boy is going to make us so proud."

"I'm proud of him already," Sigmund said with a smile.

Orvus chuckled slightly, "I am, too."

The two sat in silence for a moment, letting the warm conversation sink in. XJ-0461 snoring the smallest bit in the glass tube as he slept. It was when Sigmund grew a bit tired of the silence that he decided to speak, "Hey, when do you think-"

 _"Sir!"_ The computer's voice sounded quickly as more eye tendrils came out of the compartment near the door. Orvus noticed how urgent its voice was and paid attention immediately. _"It's the unidentified object I picked up on the radar. It appears to be moving towards the Clock at a rather alarming rate. It seems like that it was a ship instead of an asteroid. And with the course they've set, they are most likely going to attempt to get into the facility."_

 _"What?!"_ Sigmund shouted out. "Someone's coming to the Timekeeper?! That's... _crazy!_ People shouldn't know where we are except the Fongoids! Do you think the Fongoids are coming to take technology? Or they spilled our secret? Ohhh, this is so bad!"

"Sigmund, please, calm yourself," Orvus urged, needing to concentrate. "Panicking is not going to help the situation. There is always the possibility of these people not being hostile. We cannot jump to conclusions. But we will prepare ourselves just in case. Computer, which part of the facility do you believe they will land in?"

 _"My best prediction is the docking area. Honestly, why did we bother putting one in if we wish to keep this place a secret?"_ The computer said with a slight amount of sass.

"This is not the time to question the Timekeeper's design." Orvus turned to Sigmund, who was looking rather worrisome about the possible intruders. "Sigmund, secure this room and guard it. I know that you are not a fighter, so if anything happens, all I ask is that you keep my son hidden away and safe. I will try my best to make sure that you do not have to fight. I do not want to put you in danger. So simply watch after XJ-0461."

"Y-yes...I-I mean, yes, sir! The broom closet is always a great hiding place. I'll keep your son safe, sir," Sigmund said, trying to find courage and saluting his boss.

"Thank you, my friend." Orvus glanced at his hand and opened his palm wide, his Chronoscepter materializing in a flash of white light. He put it over his shoulder and went to exit the room, but not before looking worryingly at his son. He sighed and went on his way, "Let us hope that things will not have to get ugly."

* * *

 **Surprise! New Zoni AU! Just...with some new twists. This has been in the making for over a month. I decided to make a Zoni AU in the Reboot!verse in case people wanted to an XJ-0461 story in this canon. And, you know...I'll look for any reason to write baby XJ-0461.**

 **Also I decided to make XJ-0461 a physical being just like the rest of his race. Both to simplify things and to make this story and "Ethereal Gates" more unique from each other. So now XJ-0461 looks like a little Orvus with green eyes and a blue Zoni suit (made of expanding metal).**

 **And I know that the title of this fic is a little weird. "His Past Whispers" is actually a reference to when Clank had a vision in Tools of Destruction and the Zoni say "his past is inside". And the whole "the past is whispering thing" will make sense in future chapters, I promise. But, for now, enjoy Orvus playing with his baby child :)**

 **Anyway, I hope that y'all enjoy this new Zoni project. It's not going to be like Ethereal Gates, I promise. They only thing they have in common is that Clank/XJ-0461 is a full-blooded Zoni, and even _that_ is a bit different in this story.**

 **Make sure to leave a review while picking up a complimentary toaster!**

 **This is Amberdiamondswords, Lordess of Diamond Swordness, signing off!**


	2. Avast!

_"Warning! Warning!_ Unidentified _vessel approaching the Timekeeper!"_ The computer's voice rang out throughout the facility.

Orvus locked down the Orientation Room the moment he left it. With the Orvus Chamber also locked, anything of high value was safe. The main console, his son, and Sigmund were all safe for now, and that was what was important. When an unknown vessel is approaching the Clock, there is no such thing as being too careful. He didn't know what these people were or what they wanted. It was best not to take any chances.

With the Orientation Room secured, it was time to prepare some defenses for a worst-case scenario. Orvus may have been very powerful, but even he would need help in a bad situation. It was time to call for some backup.

The elder Zoni released his Chronoscepter and let it gently float next to him, as he would need both hands to do this. He ran his hands up the side of his head and grabbed his pointed helmet. There was a reason why his suit didn't quite resemble the rest of his kind's. The first reason was to help him stand out as the leader so there wasn't any confusion among outsiders. The other was a communication reason. Or rather a hive-mind reason. Out of the hundreds of thousands of Zoni, only he and his son were able to think independently. They didn't need to rely on others in order to gain brain power. And this was why Orvus kept a helmet on, to hide away the antennae that were used to control the hive-mind (he had yet to make a helmet for his son because the young one wasn't in control of the hive-mind). If he let them free, the other Zoni would be able to pick up on his thoughts, and Orvus certainly didn't want that. So he kept the helmet on to hide his thoughts, but, when he needed to, he would use his antennae to take control of the entire hive-mind and speak to every Zoni. They were like cell phones connected to the body.

Orvus glanced at his facility. Time was running out. He grabbed his helmet and removed it, letting his own long pink antennae come out. A sigh of relief escaped him. It was nice to let the things breathe on occasion, they spend so much time suffocating in the suit. He ran his hands across both of them and prepared himself. Putting all his concentration forward, Orvus' antennae stood up and glowed with a blue light, sending out a signal to his fellow Zoni. Zoni that were simply flying by stopped in their tracks and responded to their leader. With their attention, Orvus sent out a telepathic message.

"Attention! Every Zoni here in the Clock, I need you to remain calm about this unknown vessel and simply follow my orders. Come to the docking bay with me and form a defensive formation behind me. If things end up getting dangerous, remember: protect the Chamber. Protect the Timekeeper. Protect my son. Understand?"

"Yes, sire," all of the responding Zoni said in wonderous unison, as if they were all a single being.

With that, Orvus cut off the telepathic connection and lowered his antennae, allowing them to rest once more. He put his helmet back on and grabbed his Chronoscepter tightly in his hand. His large turquoise eyes glanced behind him at the Orientation Room door. A frown came to his face. He couldn't really explain it, as nothing had happened yet, but...something was telling him that whatever this vessel was, it was going to be bad. Something that would want to harm him. Something that would want to harm his son. The elder Zoni huffed before turning away from the doors and preparing to teleport to the docking back. Despite his gut telling him that something bad was approaching, he was not going to let whatever it was get to his son. He would protect. That was his job, after all.

The Zoni had responded well to his message. The moment that Orvus materialized in the docking bay, thousands of the small creatures fell into line, forming what looked like a defensive wall behind their sire. Orvus looked at them all and offered them a nod of approval. There was very little chance that whatever was coming could get through them. The Zoni were only weak to sonic weaponry, and that knowledge was little known among people outside of their race. But deep down Orvus was hoping that whatever was about to happen would go peacefully, whether it was a big misunderstanding or they solved the issue harmlessly and quietly. Though he knew that not everyone could go his way, and whatever was about to happen was most likely no exception.

The tension in the air rose as the Clock's computer called out, _"Warning! Vessel is within landing distance of the Timekeeper. Please stay alert."_

"Thank you for the warnings," Orvus told the computer. "Have you identified what kind of vessel it is?"

 _"It is close enough to the facility to be scanned."_ The voice went silent for a moment as it let the Clock's systems identify the mysterious ship. It pinged when it received the results, which took it quite by surprise. _"Scanners show that that the vessel is, in fact, a...pirate ship."_

"A pirate ship…?" Orvus muttered, lowering his Chronoscepter a tad. Pirates...he knew a pirate. He looked up into the cosmos as he noticed the silhouette of the coming ship. He muttered to himself again, "Captain Darkwater?"

Eons ago, Orvus and the other Zoni met a robot space pirate named Darkwater. After speaking with him, Orvus had given the captain a Fulcrum Star so they could speak more through the Obsidian Eyes laid across the Polaris Galaxy. But he hadn't spoken to Darkwater in a long, long time. So long that Orvus thought for sure that he had passed on. But perhaps he was wrong.

The elder Zoni found it in himself to smile as the pirate ship came closer. To think that all of this fear and tension was just going to lead to a nice catching up between old friends. Orvus had to admit that he was greatly relieved. He had so much to tell his old friend, Darkwater, about. Though he had to wonder if XJ-0461 would be fond of the pirate, as his appearance might have been very frightening to the child. But, whatever the case, he might as well have some of the Zoni fix up some tea so he could be prepared for his guest-

"We be here, everyone! Fire th' anchors! Were boardin' this galleon!"

Orvus stopped his thoughts immediately as a loud, scratchy voice echoed almost throughout the entire galaxy itself. That didn't sound like Darkwater. That didn't sound like Darkwater at all.

"I said 'fire the anchors'!" The voice yelled again, sounding annoyed.

"Right, Captain, firin' anchors! Ye heard th' Captain, get-*hic*-to it! We don't 'ave all day!" Another voice said, hiccuping in between words.

Orvus took a tense breath and held his scepter close. These were not the pirates that he thought they were. But that raised even more questions. Did that mean that other pirate crews knew where the Timekeeper was? Darkwater himself had never been to the facility, so there was no way that he could have told others where it was despite meeting the Zoni. There was something more to the pirates, but he didn't know what. They knew things that no outsider should know.

"FIRE!"

What sounded like cannon fire nearly deafened the Zoni and frightened them a bit. But not as much as the giant metal claws shooting out of a large cloud of black smoke. The claw-like anchors shot across the docking bay and pierced the golden floors, making horrible screeching sounds as they were dragged back and into a secure position. Orvus watched in horror. His own hard work being torn up right in front of his eyes. The terror he was witnessing was turning into anger within him. This would not stand. Whoever was behind this attack was definitely going to suffer the consequences.

"Stand your ground, my friends," Orvus told his fearful Zoni followers. "Just remember what we're protecting."

"And wha' is it that ye're protectin', exactly?" The same thundering voice called out.

All eyes of the Zoni were forward as a large rusty ship ungracefully crashed against the docking bay, empty grog mugs and filth being swept off the side. Several figures came up and jumped off the ship and right in front of the Zoni horde. Robot pirates holding sharp swords, their faces made to look like skulls. They pointed their weapons at Orvus and the elder Zoni did the opposite with his Chronoscepter. Orvus observed the crowd of pirates and he already knew that this wasn't all of them. They were just common crew members. The captain had yet to show himself.

Another pirate showed up on the edge of the ship. A very skinny and scrawny robot with his bottom jaw sticking out and a pint of grog in his hand. He gave the grog a quick chug before hiccuping out, "Now hold-*hic*-on! No fightin' 'til th' Captain says-*hic*-so! Go ahead 'n give th' word, Captain!"

"Don't rush me, Pete!" What Orvus assumed to be the Captain barked out. Next to Pete stomped a mighty looking robot. With glowing yellow eyes, a hook for a hand, and a metallic pirate hat, the large pirate decided that it was time to introduce himself to his next pillaging victims. He gave Orvus an intimidating glare as he proudly announced himself, "Ahoy, scallywags o' th' Zoni race! I be Captain Slag, scourge o' th' galaxy, 'n this here be me fearsome crew! We be here t' loot wha' we wants from this here timey facility! So if ye don't wants t' be scuttled at th' hands o' me hook, I suggest that ye don't put up a fight, 'n surrender th' treasures that ye hold here!"

"We do not have any of these treasures that you speak of! We are simply running a facility here and we have nothing for you! Leave now!" Orvus said confidently, slamming the bottom of his Chronoscepter on the floor.

"Don't ye lie t' me, ye slimy pink-faced toad!" Slag yelled back.

"Toad…?" The Zoni mumbled quizzically.

Slag and Pete jumped off the ship and down on the surface with the rest of the screw. Pete stumbled a bit and took another swig of grog as Slag walked up to Orvus, pushing members of his crew aside. He so close to Orvus' face that the yellow light from his eyes was shining on the Zoni, "Ye may reckon that I dunno wha' ye 'ave here, but I knew a pirate who told me all about it. Captain Angstrom Darkwater!"

Orvus was becoming increasingly curious. "You knew Captain Darkwater?"

"Aye. I was part o' his crew back in th' day. 'n I know fer a fact that ye 'Zoni' gave 'im th' treasured Fulcrum Star that he selfishly kept t' hisself. He even black spotted his owns body t' protect it aft I jabbed 'im in the back! Literally."

"You...killed him? That is why we have not heard from him?" Orvus felt like he had to sit down. All this time, he simply thought that Darkwater didn't need to contact them. Or that he was unable. Not that he was...oh my. The elder Zoni stared daggers at Slag. "If that is the case, then it is a good thing that he cursed himself to protect the Star I gave to him. I would not want such a precious gift to fall into filthy hands such as yours. I will give you nothing. Now leave this place. This instant."

The two stared at each other for a tense moment, both forces ready to pounce on each other. But Pete's drunken voice cut through it, "Oi, it's jus' 'hand' fer yer information! Singular. He's only got one o' them! Learn some manners, twat!"

"Shut yer mouth, Pete!" Slag barked at his first mate.

"Aye, Captain, shuttin' the mouth," the scrawny robot replied with a salute.

The Captain huffed before looking back down at his tiny prey. He put the edge of his hook up to Orvus' throat, but the elder Zoni didn't even bat an eye. "Now then, I'll give ye a chance t' rephrase wha' ye jus' said. 'n aft that, ye can give us all th' Fulcrum Stars that ye're keepin' here at this facility. Deal?"

Orvus then raised his Chronoscepter to Slag's throat, bringing them to a standoff, "I believe I made myself clear the last time I told you. And I am not changing my answer."

Instead of cutting at Orvus' throat or calling on his crew, the Captain let out a hearty laugh that ringed in everyone's ears. This old Zoni was definitely a hard-headed one, and in a way, he could respect that. But this old geezer was getting in the way of pillaging the riches of a whole nother dimension. Darkwater already got in the way of a Fulcrum Star, so no little Zoni was going to keep him away from the others.

"I thought ye might say that. Ye're as stubborn as that backstabber, Darkwater. No wonder ye two got along so well. But I be nah leavin' here without those Fulcrum Stars 'n whatever other treasures ye Zoni are keepin' here. Plus, I thought I might share wit' ye how I found this giant machine in th' first place." Slag smiled as he saw the look on Orvus' face. Looked like it hadn't crossed the elder's mind. Slag guessed that the Zoni weren't all they were cracked up to be if their leader overlooked something like that. Maybe a few mind games oughta knock the little thing down a few notches. ""We 'ave our ways o' gettin' information that we needs. We looked into Zoni history 'n traced yer roots back t' th' Fongoids. We ended up takin' a trip t' Quantos 'n...'asserted' ourselves. Those Fongoids aren't as useless as they look. Started natterin' only after a few casualties. Spilled where this here 'Timekeeper' was in an instant."

"Casualties…?" Orvus said, another look of horror coming to his face. His voice became low as he brought the Chronoscepter closer. "How many?"

"Heh. Enough," was all Slag replied.

The elder Zoni had to take a moment to gather himself. His heart rate was increasing. If he didn't calm down, he might have trouble controlling himself. He tried to gain his confidence again as he realized that he still had the upper-hand in all of this, "Even if you found the Timekeeper and have invaded our facility, you still cannot harm us with your mesley little swords. In terms of arsenal, we have the advantage. So if you do not wish to become strewn about on the floor, I highly suggest you stand down."

"Oh? These? Well, I reckon that we can come t' an understandin' on these. Boys! Drop th' cutlasses!" Slag ordered his crew. At the word of their captain, each pirate dropped their sword and they clattered on the floor. Orvus narrowed his eyes in suspicion. Something wasn't right about this. Slag reached into his brown jacket and gave a devilish grin, "How about we use these instead?"

One by one, each pirate pulled out blue and silver guns that seemed to have speaker-looking ends. Orvus' eyes went wide and he backed up ever so slightly. Sonic weaponry. He would recognize them anywhere. "What? How did you-"

Slag didn't let him finish before letting out another hearty laugh, "Wha' do ye reckon about our arsenal? Stole them from a Terachnoid facility that was buildin' illegal Zoni technology. Looks like they wanted t' test out some anti-Zoni weapons as well. Now all o' ye do me a favor 'n tell me how these sonic devices feel when we blast ye wit' them."

Orvus felt a rush of panic come over him. Zoni were weak against sonic blasts. He quickly called out to his followers, "Everyone, brace yourselves!"

"Alright laddies, fire!" Slag ordered.

Altogether, the pirates formed an offensive formation and pointed their guns at the group of Zoni. With the sound of multiple triggers being pulled, an giant blast of sonic waves charged at the Zoni and blew their formation apart. The confused and hurt creatures flew around the place, not knowing what to do. Orvus braced himself with a shield and tried to get the others to fall back into line. But the issue with sonic weaponry was that it disrupted the hive-mind. All of the dependent Zoni were disoriented and frightened, and it was causing Orvus' call to be blocked out. These pirates were more prepared than he expected. This was definitely not good.

Chaos quickly ensued. Pirates began chasing groups of Zoni with the sonic weaponry, blasting them whenever they had the chance. Some Zoni were blasted into submission, and were so confused that the only thing they could think to do was fall to the ground. Others flew as far away as possible, even out of the Clock, to which Orvus could not call them back. But even he was having trouble keeping a clear mind. All he could manage to do was swing his Chronoscepter at any pirate who was blasting his followers, but there were too many for him to handle. He didn't even have the time to charge up an attack because someone would always end up pointing a gun at him and disrupting his energy flow. But doing something at this point was better than doing nothing.

As Orvus smacked another pirate in the back of the head, he saw out of the corner of his eye that some of the pirates were beginning to forge ahead into the inner sanctums of the Clock. The deeper they went, the more damage they would cause. He attempted to go after them, but a hook wrapped around his throat and jerked him back, and he was face-to-face with Slag once again. Only this time a sonic blaster was pointed right at him.

The elder Zoni tried to keep up his guard as he glared at the pirate, "I will not let you take anything. I am here to protect, and I will fulfill my duty."

"Har har har! Ye dunno when t' give up, do ye? Look at yer forces! Scattered like roaches the moment we blasted them! Ye knew ye lost th' moment we attacked wit' these sonic weapons, I could see th' look on yer face. Face it, ye ole coot, ye've lost already."

"You are wrong. I am not the kind of person to give up so easily."

"Heh! I would call ye brave, but at this point I reckon ye're jus' stupid. Now-" Slag pressed the weapon against the side of Orvus' head, "give us every Fulcrum Star that ye 'ave, or yer as dead as Darkwater hisself."

"I…" the Zoni looked away. He would be gritting his teeth if he had any. There was very little room to work with this. And the disrupted hive-mind was still making his mind cloudy. He tried to think of something smart. Something that would help him solve this. But all that came out was a broken sentence. "You...will not-"

"Oi, Captain! Look wha' I found!" Pete called out as loud as he could. Slag and Orvus broke their stare down to see what he wanted. Slag looked confused while Orvus froze. He slowly shook his head as he saw what was hanging from Pete's clawed hands. Crying out for someone to release him from the scary stranger was XJ-0461. Behind them was the broken door of the Orientation Room. And Sigmund nowhere to be found. Pete shook the child in his hand a bit, "Looks like th' leader o' th' Zoni has been busy wit' a wench or two! He's got himself a wee babby!"

"Dada!" XJ-0461 cried out through his loud wails.

Annoyed, Pete shook him some more to try and shut him up. "Ah, be quiet, ye wee brat. Unless ye wants t' be th' first one sent t' Davy Jones' Locker."

"Ha! Looks like th' tables 'ave turned on ye once again. If ye don't give us wha' we wants, we'll skewer yer' sprog's gizzard 'n we'll feast on it fer grub! Wha' do ye say t' that-GAHH!" Slag let out a surprised yell as he was suddenly blinded by a white light. He felt Orvus vanish out of his hook.

Pete looked around for the elder, "Oi, where did he go-!"

Pete was cut short by the force of the Chronoscepter hitting him hard on the head. So hard that his head almost came clean off. It dangled by a few wires and he scrambled to hold on to it, dropping XJ-0461 and stumbling away. Orvus was quick to grab his child and hold him close. Upon inspection, the child and his suit were unharmed. Orvus let out a sigh of relief. Thank the stars.

"Shhh. Shhh, it is alright, my son. Daddy is here. Daddy has you." He quietly said to the child, knowing he was lying when he said that it was alright. Teleporting with an unclear mind had drained him of energy. He felt the need to collapse on the floor. Now he needed to think of a way out of this. If he didn't get away, these pirates would kill him. And his son would...he did not want to think about what would happen to XJ-0461.

"Looks like we hit a nerve wit' threatenin' yer wee lad," Slag said, walking in front of Orvus with his sonic blaster drawn.

"You will not harm him," Orvus said fiercely, holding the child close.

"I might 'ave t' if ye keep yer mouth shut 'n refuse t' hand o'er th' Fulcrum Stars. So I reckon ye should get t' it if ye wants th' lad t' live." He pointed the blaster right at the two. "Make yer choice."

Orvus looked away and down at his son, who was still crying. The child was scared and traumatized by being handled by the pirate. This was a decision that Orvus did not know if he could make. On one hand were precious resources needed to keep the Clock functioning and the pirates claiming the facility as pirate territory. On the other was the life of his son. Both of them were as important to him as life itself. And he couldn't fight. Not against the sonic weaponry. Like before, all he could spit out was a fractured and empty sentence, "I...cannot-"

"Suit yerself," the captain said, already knowing what Orvus had decided on. He and several members of his crew surrounded the two and drew their blasters. And all at once, pulled the triggers.

Orvus quickly put up an energy shield and wrapped his entire body around XJ-0461 as he was blasted from all sides. The pain was excruciating. His head felt like it was going to explode. Every pulse from the sonic waves felt like it was a sharp stab through his entire being. He couldn't even bring his arm up to block some of it, as he was more focused on making sure that his son was protected from the blast. But he didn't know how long that he himself would last. One sonic blast he could handle a few times, but seven blasts at once was on a different level of awfulness. He could feel his breathing becoming heavy and the energy that he was made of was beginning to drain.

Orvus whispered to the crying child in his arms as he kept taking the painful beating, "I...I am so sorry, son...I don't know what to do. I failed as a protector. I failed…"

"ORVUS, SIR!"

Orvus, even over the sound of the sonic blasts, heard the sound of someone yell his name. Even though he didn't have the strength to look up and see, he knew that the person who yelled was, "S...Sigmund?"

With dents all over his body, a cracked eye, and a missing arm, Sigmund came flying out of the Orientation Room and charged through the group of pirates, grabbing Orvus and knocking more pirates over as he pulled the two out of the sonic blasts. All three landed on the ground, weak and injured. Orvus quickly looked down at his arms and felt slightly relieved when he saw that XJ-0461 was still there. But the pain and weakness of the attack then weighed down on him, and he simply laid on the ground, not even able to hover anymore.

Sigmund bounced back off the ground and rushed to his colleague's aid, "Oh no! Sir, are you alright?"

"I have been in better shape…" Orvus said weakly, somewhat regretting trying to make a joke at such an awful time. And he was more worried about Sigmund instead of himself. "Sigmund, your arm…"

"I tried to fight off that skinny pirate, I really did. But after he broke in and I tried to protect XJ-0461, he beat me down pretty easily. He even took off my arm and made fun of how 'flimsy' I am. I'm so sorry I couldn't protect your son," Sigmund said sadly, putting a hand on his empty arm socket.

"You tried your best Sigmund. I should have taken down that Captain Slag the moment I had the chance."

"Well, 'tis a wee bit too late fer that now, ain't it?" Slag said, stomping towards the three.

"Oh no. Sir, what do we do?" Sigmund asked, looking to Orvus for help. But the elder Zoni was out of ideas. Slag was right: they had lost. They were too strong with their sonic weaponry. And Orvus was too weak to use his powers. The only power he had left at this point was teleportation, but that wasn't going to be useful. However, Sigmund thought otherwise. The robot quickly grabbed the potted plant on his belt and threw it at Slag, hitting him right in the eyes with it. The captain howled in pain and annoyance, grabbing his face, momentarily stunned. Sigmund turned to Orvus, "Sir, get out of here. Take your son somewhere else."

"What? Sigmund, have you gone mad?" Orvus said, surprised that Sigmund would suggest such a thing. "I cannot leave the Timekeeper vulnerable to these pirates!"

"It already is vulnerable to the pirates! They beat you and the other Zoni with the sonic weaponry and they beat me with brute force! If you get away, then at least you'll be able to save XJ-0461. Because we both know that if they kill you, they'll kill him, too."

The elder Zoni frowned and looked down at his child, who was clinging to him tightly. He sighed, "I...I don't know if I should do this. It goes against everything I-"

"You want to protect everything that's important to you, right? Well, if you're like this, you can't protect the Timekeeper. But you can at least protect your son."

"But what about you?"

"Eh...that's the part that I don't know about. But if I play it smart, I might survive. But I'll gladly give my life so XJ-0461 can live his," Sigmund said heavily.

Orvus pondered this option. On paper, it seemed insane and went against everything Orvus said he would do. He was a guardian of time. A Senior Caretaker. Leaving the Clock defenseless and letting it be overtaken by pirates was something that he definitely did not want to do. But...the odds were against him. His Zoni followers were scattered and injured. _He_ was injured. He couldn't fight like this. And with teleportation as the only thing he had enough strength to do, it really did seem like the only option. And, in the end, it would save his son.

This was easily the hardest thing Orvus ever had to do. He felt the need to cry, but he needed to stay strong. For his son and for Sigmund. He looked up his friend and gave a sad smile. "Sigmund...thank you for everything you have done for me. And I'm sorry that I have to-"

"You don't have to apologize for anything. You wouldn't be doing this if it wasn't the only option. And really, I should be thanking you for this job you gave me. It's been pretty awesome overall. And XJ-0461," the robot tried to keep himself from getting choked up as he looked at the child, "you behave, alright? Try not to teleport everywhere. Be good for me."

As XJ-0461 reached out a hand for Sigmund, Orvus managed to smile, "You really are his best uncle."

"Yeah…!" Sigmund looked behind him and saw Slag getting his bearings back. They were out of time. He urged them along. "Alright, it's time to go! Quick!"

Looking at his friend one last time, Orvus held onto his son tight and gathered up his energy. Basically scraping the bottom of the barrel, he brought his energy forth and teleported in a large flash of white light, leaving only particles and a strange symbol that faded away with the light.

Sigmund let out a sigh of relief before looking timidly at the now angry crew of pirates who just lost their victim. He tried to look confident, but they certainly weren't buying it. He was definitely in trouble now. This was going to be a rough time.

* * *

 **Whoo...intense chapter.**

 **Tbh, I love writing pirate talk. It is _ridiculously_ fun. But I had to watch an entire walkthrough of Quest for Booty to study the pirates in this franchise, so that was...interesting.**

 **Make sure to leave a review while picking up your complimentary toaster!**

 **This is Amberdiamondswords, Lordess of Diamond Swordness, signing off!**


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